1. Field
The present invention relates to an electric vehicle and relates particularly to an electric vehicle including a reduction gear device for transmitting the output of an electric motor to a drive wheel, and also for regenerating electric energy by transmitting rotation of the drive wheel to the electric motor.
2. Description of Related Art
Various power transmission mechanisms for electric vehicles have been studied. For example, in an electric vehicle described in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-352208), an electric motor held on a swingarm is disposed on a lateral side of a drive wheel, and power from the electric motor is transmitted to the drive wheel through a reduction gear device. The reduction gear device is housed within the width of the drive wheel and includes a tooth portion which is formed around the tip of an output shaft of the electric motor and a tooth portion around an axle which meshes with the tooth portion formed around the output shaft.